Saturday 22 September 2018

Challenges Faced When Adopting Teleradiology Services

By Karen Butler


In today's world, teleradiology has become online and global. The information technology service industry has pioneered advancements in telemedicine that has made the concept of a global office a reality. It has provided a 24-hour workforce connected through the internet where work follows the sun. This implies we can have a radiologist offering teleradiology services to individuals working night shift in a different part of the world.

It is now possible for radiology services to be offered across countries and different time zones. This has improved patient care, especially in emergency situations. A radiologist in one country can offer a diagnosis to personnel in an emergency situation in a remote hospital in another country. The staff is then able to offer the patient the right treatment.

The development of the online e-commerce platforms has also improved the efficiency and reliability of delivering the service. Not only can a radiologist receive and send data through the platform but other processes such as billing and payment are also being done on the platform. This has greatly increased service delivery.

The delivery model has enabled the radiology services to be delivered to emergency rooms, large hospitals, and even remote clinics. A single radiologist can simultaneously offer these services to multiple hospitals during the night shift. This leads to cost-effectiveness as the need to hire night shift personnel in the remote hospitals is minimized.

Teleradiology has provided very many benefits and improved patient care. There are, however, several barriers that exist in the global healthcare system that prevent the adoption of the service. This has had a direct impact on the delivery of this medical service to patients. Firstly the technology used in the service requires trained technicians to operate the equipment. These technicians are not readily available. Reliable internet in remote locations is also another barrier that has hindered the successful wide-scale adoption of teleradiology.

The process of acquiring a radiology consultant has also been a barrier to the rapid adoption of the service. Most of the licensing requirements and board certifications in the client hospitals require an appointment or physical meeting with the consulting radiologist before engaging him or her. This is the current regulatory structure that needs to be addressed for the medical service to be adopted with ease.

Another challenge that has been noted is the fact that liability laws differ from country to country. This has impacted the service delivery of radiology negatively. The implications of the malpractice liability laws are not very clear where they differ. Some of the claims have also arisen from the improper use of the equipment and error in the transmission of data between the client hospitals and the radiologists.

Another obstacle that has faced the spread of the service globally is the security and confidentiality concerns that have been raised. The patient data is usually transmitted over a public network and the threat of unauthorized access to this data is present. The hospitals involved in the setup need to safeguard the information they have and have it encrypted without affecting its reliability.




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